Their lead in the NL East is down to 4 1/2 games, so should the Nationals be worried? Well, much as they'd like to still lead the Braves by 7 or 8 games, they're still in a commanding position heading down the stretch. If the Nats merely go 5-5 the rest of the way, Atlanta would have to go 9-0 just to force a one-game tiebreaker for the division title. Even if the Nats completely fall apart and go 3-7, the Braves would need to go 7-2 to force that extra game. Still seems unlikely.

The Nationals, of course, do need to win a few more games to wrap this thing up, and they'd certainly love to move step closer today with a victory in their series finale against the Brewers (who are trying to hang on in the Wild Card race but still trail the Cardinals by 2 1/2 games for that final postseason berth).

Wisconsin native Jordan Zimmermann is the starter for this Monday matinee. He'll face a former National in Marco Estrada, who in case anyone forgot posted a 7.20 ERA in 15 appearances (all but one out of the bullpen) for Washington in 2008 and 2009 but has since become a legitimate big-league starter for Milwaukee.

I've got today off, possibly my last day off until the Nationals' season ends (whenever that is). Chase Hughes is covering on my behalf, though, so look for his game updates here and the day's other news on the homepage. I'll talk to you all tomorrow from Philadelphia…

Cough, Cough, Cough.. Sorry boss, not feeling well at all, I think I am going to go home…(Actually, he knows I will be at the game today.)GO JORDAN! GYFNG! Get some runs.. Clouds over the sun only when the Nats are in the field.Is there anyway we can summon an eclipse?

Getting ready to leave for the stadium with 3 of my girlfriends. Girls day at Nats Park! OK, closer to middle-aged ladies day, but whatever. Go Nats! Jordan, throw the game of your life and Estrada…….throw like your old Nat self.

Don't worry, Mark. We promise to behave while you're off today. (Okay, who's bringing the boombox? Yes, I did just show my age.) :-)Have fun at the park, ladies! Will be finishing up my work early so as to watch on tv.Go, JZ! Go, NATS BATS! Go, BLUE BLOCKERS!! Go behind the clouds, SUN!! (Well, at least in the top half of the inning.)

The baseball gods have been very kind to us this year. They must have all gotten drunk Saturday night and had a hangover yesterday–they were sure in a foul mood. Orioles have the bases loaded with one out in the ninth and can't score. Dodgers finally look like a team when it's probably too late. And then there's that playing around with the clouds in DC. Etc. etc.Whatever happens, we have had a hell of a run.

I just wanted to give you all some recent history for those complaining about the Nats.The 2006 World Series Champs were the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals finished the 2006 regular season with a 3-9 record and 83-78 to win the NL Central.Great managers seem to get the most of their teams in the post-season and sometimes the end of the regular season focus changes. No matter what happens, the Nats are in the post-season. Yes, we would all like to see the Nats win the next 6 games and secure the Division quickly.

So Marco Estrada, eh. Is Mike Rizzo starting to supply MLB with used Nats' pitchers? More to come, no doubt. Only native Cheese Head in the game is pitchin' for us!GoooooooooJZim!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GoooooooooNats!!!

MicheleS said… Cough, Cough, Cough.. Sorry boss, not feeling well at all, I think I am going to go home…(Actually, he knows I will be at the game today.)GO JORDAN! GYFNG! Get some runs.. Clouds over the sun only when the Nats are in the field.Is there anyway we can summon an eclipse? September 24, 2012 10:03 AM I heard I missed a heck of a party in RF with the Legion of BOOM! You and NatsJack, Swift, Gonat, Andrew, Joe S. and others!My guess is you were the best baseball mind of the bunch!

May Jordan throw nothing but strikes early and often. Keep his pitch count 14 or less per inning.May the Nats bats provide runs in crooked numbers several times today.And MicheleS…..I'll be watching on TV later today when I sneak out of the office at 12:30.Cheer extra loud for me today.

NatsJack in Florida said… Ghost….Swift wanted to be there but wasn't. But it s was still a heckuva party. Swift is the leader of the Legion of BOOM! Are you traveling to Washington for any of the playoffs or just the WS?

Its still basically about getting the bullpen set up since there will only be 4 starters according to Davey. I don't know if he's eligible but I think Zach Duke would make a nice addition. Seems like he has almost replaced Gorzo of late? Garcia gets H-Rod's 60-day DL slot … they need to figure out what's up with Clippard and Burnett before October.It looks like Ghost was right about Lannan … except not in the playoffs against Atlanta. Looks like he'll be pressed into service against the Phillies twice and will bypass the Cardinals. CMW will pitch one of those along with EJax and JZimnn.

Re: GarciaThis is more Rizzo's call than Davey's, and it's not one he's going to make now.So I humbly suggest that we postpone worrying about next year until next year. Or at least until the off season. GYFNG!

Sorry to disagree w/ Peric (and it's sometimes dangerous) but I think there's a dearth of starters, not relievers. No Jackson next year, most of you think Lannan is gone, and no one behind them — with the possible exception of Perry — to ascend to the No. 5 role. If in fact they want to make Garcia a starter, my guess is he would start the season in Syracuse or H'burg, get acclimated to the job, and come up as a mid-season/injury replacement. Garcia in my mind has more potential than Perry. Two TJs is not a disqualifier. Capuano has had two, and doesn't have nearly as live an arm as Garcia. Jose Rijo, I heard, had five. Maybe what Garcia needs to do is cut down on the number of sliders. If he didn't take to starting, they could always move him back to the pen.I'm not saying I endorse this idea but it shouldn't be ruled out. Because I think each of us, right now, could name at least eight guys (including Garcia and five other right-handers — unfortunately, H. Rodriguez is one) who have earned or are guaranteed spots in next year's BP.

Hurrah MichelleS! I can't wait to see them. How do I find you on twitter?I'm better off if I take cash to the stadium. They take a card everywhere except in the seats. And once I make it to the seats, I rarely leave.GO NATS!

If the Nats merely go 5-5 the rest of the way that would make them 12-12, a .500 team, since Strasburg was shut down. Just sayin'.Just sayin' what?Nats were 1-2 (.333) over the last three games Strasburg pitched. Stasburg had an ERA of 6.43 in his last three starts.Just sayin' 😉

PChuck said…If these are the kind of ideas that Davey's coming up with, hopefully he's not here next season.Yep — Davey's got quite a track record. Consider: he stuck with Desi and Espi during their slumps. Morse, too. How'd that turn out? Oh, wait — tied for the best record in baseball so far?OK, well, what about Davey's past? At (or 2d) highest winning PCT of any active manager?Clearly — you must be a fan of a team that competes against the Nats, and you fear Davey's return! 😉

Michele, from what you can tell on Gameday (I know, not accurate, but at least the locations should be relatively consistent among themselves. I hope), it's not only bad but inconsistent. Outside corner strike by JZimm to Weeks in the third called a ball at the exact same outside placement (just a little lower down) that two pitches earlier was called a strike. Then a makeup call on a pitch just outside the zone called a strike. No wonder JZimm threw only one pitch to the outside corner to Braun. (Of course that could be his hot zone to keep away from, though McCatty said they don't look at that so much but pitch to their own strengths. Of course, that may be half BS, at least with Braun. Of course, Braun's hot zone may be anywhere he can reach right now.)Also, he was throwing mostly four seamers in the first inning but by the third he was favoring the slider (high 80s) much more, and going to the heater only maybe a third of the time or less. Looks like he's searching for a rhythm.

Brewers manager Ron Roenicke on Jayson Werth as a leadoff hitter:“You look at their lineup, you look at what Werth is doing. I know he’s a scary hitter because he can drive the ball, but he’s got like a .395 on-base percentage. If you go through the league and look at lead-off men, there aren’t that many guys that can do that. He’s doing that and driving the ball with power. That’s really good.”Gee, other team's manager sees what some of NIers can't see. A good example of a reason why some of our bloggers aren't managers.

2:07 p.m. — No score through the third as the Nationals left a few stranded. Jordan Zimmermann got them started with a single to left and Jayson Werth joined him on base with another one. A Harper flyout, Zimmerman strikeout, and LaRoche popout left them without something to show for it as it remains 1-1 going into the fourth inning. Estrada is at 50 (29).___________________________________Better check again, its a 1-1 game.

Joe Seamhead said… Brewers manager Ron Roenicke on Jayson Werth as a leadoff hitter:“You look at their lineup, you look at what Werth is doing. I know he’s a scary hitter because he can drive the ball, but he’s got like a .395 on-base percentage. If you go through the league and look at lead-off men, there aren’t that many guys that can do that. He’s doing that and driving the ball with power. That’s really good.”Gee, other team's manager sees what some of NIers can't see. A good example of a reason why some of our bloggers aren't managers. September 24, 2012 2:09 PM ______________________________________Some idiot on here over the weekend was crowing that Werth had no power. They will complain about anything.

Took lunch a little late and listened to an hour of Charlie and Dave. Sounds like Marvin Hudson is continuing his audition to be an NFL replacement ref. Ugh. I'd love for a reporter to really dig into how MLB evaluates its umps and uses that information. Once again, Harper's hustle leads to a run. In the off season, I think I'll take a look at all of his runs scored and try to assess how many of them resulted from his hustle. That wouldn't include runs scored by others where he kept the inning alive by beating out an infield hit. He just seems to have an uncanny ability to take advantage of any opponent's weakness to score. So much fun to watch.JZnn hasn't been great, but he's allowed only a run in four innings. Keep it up guy. We need you to be strong in the postseason.

For those watching on TV or at the game, is Estrada getting a lot of late movement on his pitches? Because, boy, a lot of swings on pitches nowhere near the plate.Also, did Danny just make a bad decision on the Shark grounder or Hart make a good play? Or both?Lousy trade of a runner on third for one on first, though a ball hit to the right side should get a runner home.

Swift Eagle said… Contact play was on, most managers would do that in the 4th inning, an aggressive play, but probably the correct one…But Jordan just picked up another RBI!! September 24, 2012 2:25 PM ____________________________________Its the right play but poor situational contact once again.Bernadina got himself in a 0-2 hole quickly.

Gonat, didn't they score all three runs against the Dodgers in JZimm's last game without an RBI hit? They all count the same no matter how they came in. JZimm might not be a bad extra inning PH in the playoffs the game after he's pitched…So now you don't have to feel so sad with Werth bringing in two more.

Gonat — I know that LaRoche has at least one home run this year swinging on a 3-0 count.Typically, the guy who bats clean up, and a guy with 30+ home runs is exactly one of the few guys who gets a green light on 3-0, no?

Werth just did a smart thing in RF the way he stepped to his left to make the play in the sun. In other words he had his left shoulder pointed slightly towards home. It helps to see the ball in the sun as you're not looking directly into it.

Not joking, I really think Lombo lost a GROUND BALL in the shadows yesterday!Late in the game yesterday, there were approx. 20 different shadows in the infield from the stands, lights, poles, etc…Total nightmare

Jamie Q. can go F. himself. Until that magic number is 0, it's pedal to the metal, boots on their throats, playing 110%, and every other cliche' you can think of. This team didn't endure 100 loss seasons and league-wide ridicule to be satisfied with Ms. Congeniality awards.

As the Nats pile it on, Ghost was cleverly invoking Jamie Quirk, who was the Cards coach who went after Bo Porter for Werth swinging away on a 3-0 pitch. Bo said, among the things that could be quoted on a family blog, "That's the way we play" — which I still would love to see on a T-Shirt.

I've posted this before, but I think playoff Games 1 and 2 are actually going to help the Nats.The first playoff game in DC is going to be surrounded by a lot of hoopla and distractions, which would be even worse if it were Game 1…That would be a tough one to win…Often the home team in Game 1 "tries to do too much" which Davey says has been a problem all year..Can you imagine how many swings for the fences the Nats would take in a home Game 1?

Yes, SWM, this year's setup is stupid…But I remember many home Game 1s that the Caps lost b/c they were trying to make the spectacular play to excite the fabulous crowd, while the visitors just played playoff hockey…I could see the young Nats being similar

That was a good move by Johnson to put Clippard in. Let him work on getting rid of some ghosts.Hey, Mark DeRosa can still dive back. Congrats to Perez. That's a hit. Bad call by the official scorer. Did you all see Perez fly?

I'm especially happy for Eury. Wish that ump had let you have your moment. And that Dude with the bills on him IS creepy, He means well but he is majorly creepy. He is near our section often. May the Sun Monster whack the Phillies Thursday afternoon. Far as I am concerned, he still got more bites out of our guys than he got out of our opponents.

NatsJack in Florida said… I hate to say it but relievers who need 28 pitches to get through an inning are usually called "bad". September 24, 2012 4:08 PM __________________________________He's typically 17 to 22 a good inning. That doinker by Ryan Braun is played shallower against any other oppo hitter and caught by the RF.

NatsJack in Florida said… I know Gonat. The 17 – 22 number for a good inning is playing with fire, though. September 24, 2012 4:16 PM ______________________________________It is like an inning and a 1/2 when you look at arm stress so his innings count is misleading though McCatty said that isn't the case.

I noticed at the weekend games that Livo didn't head into the 'pen until the third inning or so. Was wondering whether he might be doing some throwing inside before heading out there, as much as he threw before games as a starter. He didn't seem to throw many in the 'pen before coming in on Saturday. (I was fine with the results, of course. Love ya, Livo. :-))

Natsfan1a, JaneB and Section 222: I wish I knew how to design an automated Magic Number counter. I could probably make a pretty penny off such an app!In the meantime, I just stand by the ready and change the number manually as soon as the game ends.

I know nobody's here any more, but: here's a Magic Number widget.You seem to be okay for this year, but keep this in mind for the future. (I don't think this site uses Word Press, but maybe there's one out there for what you do use.)Just a thought.